Beginner Flyer: I Want to Get into the Sport of RC Flying. How should I start?

We think the best way to have loads of fun (as opposed to the ABSOLUTE bummer of a crash that stops your flying for the day 40 seconds into the flight- or whenever) is to get your chops on an aerobatic trainer that bounces without breaking in most crashes. You can simply launch it again, and keep flying.

We recommend the HawkSky with Supermax Crashproofing, nose plates, nose bands, vent, and skid plate and HawkFighter 8 Wing plates (installed or install them yourself or get Foam Prep), with an upgrade motor – the extra power from the upgraded motor and battery can come in handy when you are trying to maneuver yourself out of a problem. (HawkFighter 5 or above and an upgraded battery 2600mAh - 3300mAh) Look here:

I may say this again below, but you can learn to fly, or you can learn to go home and fix broken planes- it just depends on the plane that you are flying! Also we highly recommend that you log a lot of simulator time WAY before you even start flying actual RC airplanes.

As I say, I think it's a good idea to get the "target plane" (dream plane, war bird, etc) that you're dying to fly, and have it as a reward for doing 15 flights in a row without any "unplanned landings" with a trainer like the HawkSky, HawkFighter or Easy Trainer 1280mm.

DO THIS IN A 1-2-3 SETUP

1- Simulator– log lots of time. Fly on a good simulator for your first 100 crashes- you'll save a lot of planes. In a simulator, planes want to fly. In real life, planes want to crash. So, after you're great on the sim, you're still going to put some planes in!

2- Practice flying on a Crashproofed Hawksky, HawkFighter or Easy Trainer 1280mm.Also, Remember "Crashproofing" is a cute trade name, like all cute trade names just meant to be memorable. Our planes may be the hardest EPO planes to break on the planet, but they're still breakable. Reinforcing a plane makes it come through crashes in far better shape than it does if it's not reinforced, and it's relative. Using some examples gleaned from our 4 years of testing, we can describe the results like this: if your plane would crack in a 5MPH crash, now it won't crack. If the nose would be broken in 4 places in a 20 MPH crash, now it will only be cracked in one. If the original plane gets mangled into the trashcan in a 45 MPH crash, now it will be cracked in 3 places instead, and easy to repair by gluing the cracks closed. Typically, a reinforced plane will last through about 20 bad crashes- "bad" meaning the type of crash that would have you working on your mangled plane for a couple of hours in a shop, typically adding quite a bit of weight in glue and materials. Even if an unreinforced plane is repairable, it will be in the garbage after 3 or 4 of these types of "flying speed" crashes, whereas a properly reinforced plane will last 4 to 5 times longer.

3- Work your way up to planes with props in front and other breakable parts, like nice (expensive) landing gear) is the most likely way to get you firmly into this VERY enjoyable hobby without being discouraged- and breaking a lot of expensive, time consuming stuff on planes can be very discouraging. Conversely, learning to really handle a plane so you can sling it around with true confidence is one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done! And after learning plane handling, I re-experienced flying a WW2 fighter- what a difference!! If flying RC is fun, slinging around a muscular fighter plane is an entirely new level of enjoyment!

The investment is up to you! You can get a non-reinforced plane for a lot less, but it will not withstand most crashes to fly again like our reinforced planes. That's where the price difference comes in. If you buy a reinforced plane it will save you from buying several non-reinforced planes. Just look at our testimonials: http://www.killerplanes.com/content/testimonials